King George and the State of the Union

Reporting live from his living room, while watching dubya on television....and typing on his laptop - lil' ol' me.

He opened his speech with some nice little domestic items - but nothing incredibly new that hasn't been bandied about Congress for quite some time. These would be nice if they can get done but we shall see.

The main part of dubya's speech was in defense of his failed Iraq policy and pleading with a hostile Congress to authorize more troops to send over there.

But Iraq will not be stabilized with more American troops. We need to have more international troops there - sent by the United Nations - who have an interest in peace/stability in the middle east. With more UN authorized troops, the American military can begin to withdraw from Iraq. I think the US Armed forces are spread out too thin as it is.

Hopefully the Democratic controlled Congress will tighten the purse strings. Sen. Clinton was interviewed on ABC after the speech and she said that she'd like to see the funds we're using to subsidize the Iraqui troops taken away. Perhaps this will make them realize that they need to defend their own country from insurgents. I really think the majority of Iraqui citizens would like nothing better than to see American forces pull out somewhat if not all together.

Of course the question is - can the newly elected Iraqui government withstand all of the insurgent factions who would then likely start/continue civil war to gain power? Can the US handle another hostile government to American interests come to power if the current leadership is overthrown?

If I knew the answer to that...